TORONTO and VANCOUVER were rivals in a two year competition to become Canada’s trading hub for the Renminbi (or Yuan), China’s currency. TORONTO, because of its prominent financial sector, won the contest.

Other cities around the globe including London, Frankfurt and Seoul are already offshore trading hubs, but Canada is the first in the Americas to be designated.  The Canadian Chamber of Commerce estimates that the hub could boost Canada’s exports to China by as much as $32-billion and cut Canadian importers‘ costs by as much as $2.75-billion over the next decade.